Barcelona homegrown star emerges as Flick’s clearest choice to replace injured Rodri

Barcelona homegrown star emerges as Flick’s clearest choice to replace injured Rodri According to SPORT , Marc Bernal is emerging as the clear favourite to replace Rodri in the Barcelona midfield unit, following the latter’s injury against Aston Villa. The 30-year-old summer signing has been a permanent fixture in the team since his arrival, but suffered a hamstring injury on Tuesday night during the UEFA Champions League clash at the Spotify Camp Nou. Barcelona confirmed Rodri’s injury earlier today, ruling him out of the weekend’s La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid. While the club did not provide a specific timeline for his return, reports suggest that he will be sidelined for a month . Marc Bernal the most likely replacement This leaves Barcelona in a precarious position considering that Rodri has been Flick’s preferred partner for Pedri in the double pivot for much of the season. Rodri out for one month. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images) Now, as per the report, the evidence from this season strongly suggests that Bernal will be the one taking over as Barcelona’s first-choice defensive midfielder during Rodri’s absence. In the four games when Rodri did not start this term, Bernal was the player chosen to feature in the lineup by Flick. Indeed, Bernal got the nod in Barcelona’s opening La Liga fixture against Elche, when the Spain captain was not in the squad, as well as the games against Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano and the Champions League meeting with PSG. Overall, Bernal has accumulated 505 minutes across 13 appearances for Barcelona this season, registering two assists in the process. The midfielder averages 34.4 touches per match, completes 88% of his passes and records 2.7 recoveries, 3.2 duels won and 0.9 clearances per game in La Liga this season. Flick has total faith in Bernal Bernal to step in for Rodri. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) Manager Flick has complete and total faith in Bernal’s talent and ability to step up as Barcelona’s starting defensive midfielder. This was pretty much evident from his comments after the 3-0 win over Aston Villa at Camp Nou last night, as he said : “Frenkie’s just come back from injury; he played as a centre-back against Alavés, and Bernal has played very well whenever he’s been on the pitch.” The German tactician has backed the La Masia graduate from the moment he took over the reins at Barcelona back in 2024. And, with Rodri now being out of action for an extended period, Bernal appears to be the next in line to step into the side despite Flick having other options like Gavi and Frenkie de Jong.